New Years Eve Eve, Banks Pen: Mt Pearce, View Hill.

Holidayed at Little Akaloa from Boxing Day til yesterday. Took my bits and pieces over and replaced entire drivetrain, cassette, chain, derailleurs, cables, shifters, middle ring (new 36t), and new bashguard and tensioner...

30th December, 2009, me Sis and partner were heading to Akaroa in our car, so i grabbed a lift to the top of the hill with them (saving me a 45 minute granny-grovel). from summit rd (540m), i headed up track to top of Mt Pearce (737m). a few gates, a few steeps, with great views, and a nice cool southerly blowing across the tops. turned around and bombed it back down to summit road.

then tootled around Summit Rd towards Okains, peeling off below Duvauchelle Peak, hitting the ridge (571) to View Hill. across the ridge, walking bits and pieces upto the sidle round to the paper road, and on up the zigs to the very top (762m). helluva gale up there, but views extraordinaire. looked at watch: 12.00. and headed down. down, off piste a bit, then onto the paper road officialis, bombed, shook, shuddered, hoofed, huffed, pushed by wind up bits normally pedalled, bombed (again), hooned, full noise down the last gravel, onto the seal at Chorlton, then back round into the wind for the descent into the bay, pedalling to keep the speed up into the wind, then awesome speed down to church and on down past beach, up road, up drive to house, 12.15... choice, nearly 800m altitude, 8kms (4kms and more than 500m alt. of which was off road), 15mins...